Happy Easter - Where Do You Blog?

Happy Easter my sweeties!! I hope you all got at least one lovely egg? I was super surprised by Hubby with this:

I didn't expect an egg because I don't know when he sneaked out and got it - we're very lucky as Hubby works from home and the only time he has been out this week was on his motorbike and with tight leathers and no topbox goodness knows how he got it home!!

I didn't get him an egg, instead I bought him these froggy pants (don't worry it's not a link to Hubby wearing them, just the pants on the Asda website!!)

We have a running joke because I insist on buying him all manner of Kermit themed t-shirts which he moans about but then wears anyway (so I reckon he secretly likes them!!) My favourite of which is this one:

When wearing this one Hubby always gets lots of attention from the ladies (including a whole hen party when he went to collect a takeaway!!) and therefore we call this particular Kermit top his "Pulling T-Shirt"!!

Where Do You Blog?

I took a picture to show you where I usually blog:

Sat in "my corner" which is on the old sofa in the conservatory with the coffee table in front of me - to my left is a wall of windows overlooking the garden and Hubby sits at the dining table (you can see his chair and coffee in the background, I made him move while I took the pic as he was making the place look untidy!!) 

If I am not out playing with the ponies or in my sewing room I can be found in my corner....

Where do you blog?

Hope you are having a lovely weekend....

S x

Noteworthy Things....

Five Noteworthy (to me anyway) Things That Have Happened In The Last 24 Hours....

• The bluebells in our front garden are blooming - I love bluebells and every year make sure we walk in the woods to see the carpets of them. Then a few years ago a few clumps appeared out of nowhere in our garden.

• Jasper (pictured above) who is a housecat, escaped from his garden pen and refused to be caught. He skipped around the neighbours gardens and when I finally managed to get hold of him, he sunk his claws in my shoulder, I dropped him and he trotted off thinking he was the cats pyjamas.

• Bear also escaped but he allowed us to catch him straight away as he can't resist the chance of a cuddle.

• My dahlias are growing. It's my first time planting them and they look so uninspiring when they come out of their packet - sad little bulby, rooty things. After a few days on the conservatory windowsill tiny, tiny shoots began to appear and now they are growing before our very eyes!! 

• Son#2 (right) has had a friend sleep over and the two of them and Son#1 have been up and down all night. Literally, ALL NIGHT. Letting them have fizzy pop and sweeties before bed was Not A Good Idea.

What noteworthy things have happened to you in the last 24hrs?

S x

PS Happy Good Friday....

A Forgetful Squirrel? And Blogging With Meaning....

First of all, I must show you something.


Hubby got around to cutting the grass and as it had grown rather long he managed to scalp parts of it!! In doing so though, we found several little areas like this:

We have four mature trees in our garden and I think the squirrels that live there must be a little forgetful!! We have a hazel too and the squirrels have been diligently collecting the nuts and storing them for the winter and have then gone and forgotten all about them!!

Blogging With Meaning....

I've been thinking a bit about my blog, and as much as I love to show you around our home and garden and share with you the things I have made, I also want to use my blog to explore "deeper" things. 

Although I love to write I often lack inspiration and so I did a bit of a Google for journalling prompts and found Daydreaming On Paper - this site has daily journalling prompts and it also has an "Inspire Me" button that will randomly generate a prompt for you.

I think this could help my blog have more meaning.

So, in future as well as crafts, shopping, house and home I will try and write more about family, life, love and the universe!!

Why do you blog? I'd love to hear....

S x

Mod Podge Madness!!

I've recently discovered the magic that is Mod Podge!! 


It has provided a solution to the problem I was having with my dressing table, which I had painted and covered with the  Cath Kidston Antique Rose wallpaper that I have on one wall of the bedroom. I needed something to protect it and didn't think varnish was the answer so when I discovered Mod Podge I thought it would be perfect as it is made especially for decoupaging.


I gave the dressing table and the chest (which belonged to Hubby's granddad) a couple of coats:

I'm now finding myself eyeing up other things with the intention of covering them with CK and Mod Podge!!

S x

21 Years Ago Today....

My beloved Granddad died 21 years ago today....


This is my Mum, Granddad and me and was taken on my 16th birthday:

Not sure when this was taken, probably around when I was born in the '70's:

Granddad and I utterly adored each other, he and Nanna lived in Doncaster and we in Nottinghamshire and every chance I got I would go and stay with them.

I have such wonderful memories of my time spent there being spoiled!!

When we moved down south in 1988 Nanna and Granddad came with us to live and sadly not long afterwards Granddad was diagnosed with lung cancer :0(

I miss him very much - our eldest is named after him.

Love you Granddad....

My Homemade Cath Kidston Bag....

I'm so chuffed, having spent 30 odd years thinking I couldn't sew that I managed this!!

I love Cath Kidston saddle bags, but I don't care too much for the oilcloth - I'd much prefer them in cotton and I also don't care for the £68 price tag so I made my own:

It needs some snaps on the tabs yet....

Inside - I know I should have used a white zip but I only had black and you can't see it when the flap is over....

I hunted around for a similar pattern and found Butterick B4147.

Recently a Cath Kidston outlet store opened in our nearest city and so off I went to look for fabric. As an outlet they get discontinued and sale stuff but this time they only had a very small selection of fabric as they were awaiting new stock.

However, what they did have was a good selection of tablecloths and at £17 for 140cm x 180cm it was a bargain (CK cotton duck is £18 per metre full price and £12 per metre in the outlet). For the lining I bought a couple of tea towels and as these came with a CK label I even had that to add to my bag!!

I sew for a couple of hours in the afternoon either before or after I see to the ponies.

I really enjoyed making it and will definitely make more, I'd like one in every CK pattern!! 

Big hello and welcome to all my new followers, I can't tell you how excited I am to see the number creeping up!!

Hope you're having a lovely weekend? 

S x

Joining the "Define Your Blog" party....

I recently found the lovely blog Modern Country Style and decided to join in the "Define Your Blog" link party.


It was late last year that I discovered blogs. I mean I knew they were out there but I didn't really "get" it. Someone gave me the link to Posy as they thought I would appreciate her style. Soon after I joined Blogger and learned how to follow all my favourite blogs. 


My list grows by the day and I love to sit with cup of tea to hand to see what my favourite online ladies have been up to. Of course after becoming an avid blog reader it was inevitable that I would want a blog of my own and so "Shabby Chic Sarah" was born.


I was a bit ambivalent about it begin with, having a feeling I was "talking to myself" but as I have gathered a little following I am enjoying it more and more and look forward to the day when I hit 50 followers so I can have a give away!!


I want to use this blog to invite you into my life, to show you my makes and my treasures and to fulfil to a small extent the writer in me (always wanted to be a journalist).


And now before this post becomes too wordy, lets have some photos.


This week was my Mum's birthday, and as is the tradition my Sis and I took her out. This year for the first time my neice joined us too:

Apologies for the quality, the waitress took it and hadn't zoomed in so I had to crop it lots!!

We went to Brasserie Blanc which is Raymond Blanc's bistro for lunch.

A couple of years ago Hubby and I went to Le Manoir Raymond Blanc's fine dining restaurant for lunch and so I was excited to be going to the bistro. Msr Blanc says "If Le Manoir is a fine waltz, then Brasserie Blanc is the Can Can".

I hate to say it but I was a tiny bit disapponted. It was very fishy. I Don't Do Fish. The surroundings, staff and atmoshphere were perfect and my starter (Beetroot and Watercress Salad) was yummy but the main course of Confit of Pork with Flagoulet Beans (which was the only meat option on the set menu) was just not my thing. The meat was a little fatty and not as tender as I had hoped and the beans were a little bland. Sorry Raymond.

They did let us bring a cake for Mum though and we had a slice of that with a nice latte for pudding and that was lovely.

My Sis and I - she Doesn't Do Hugs so always looks a bit tense in photos as I am a Very Huggy Person:

We don't look alike much do we? I always hide behind friends and relatives to give the impression I am smaller than I actually am!!

See the dress I am wearing? I made it!! As you know I recently taught myself to sew after years of thinking I was incapable and this is my first garment made of a stretchy knit fabric (which is meant to be tricky to sew) and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out:

The fabric was a bargain from eBay and so this dress cost me about a fiver!!

I'm going to do a couple more in a different print as I think it is pretty flattering on my rather voluptuous (love that word!!) frame and also is like wearing a nightie it's so comfortable.

I am doubly pleased it turned out OK as I had lost my clothes making MoJo after the last few garments I made were a disaster (one I spent ages on and then hated as it was super unflattering and then two other disasters involving shortages of fabric and fitting issues) and it had really put me off making clothes.

Lastly, just a huge welcome and thank you to my new followers - I can't tell you how chuffed I am when I see my little counter increasing and to let you know that I truly appreciate you stopping by. Do leave a comment, especially if you have your own blog that I can explore!!

Have a good weekend!!

S x